


second life

by blushao (horizsan)



Series: an ode [5]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, Reincarnation AU, based off of seventeen's song second life, car and train accident tw, the major character death isn't permanent, there is no sexual content i don't write that kind of stuff bc it makes me uncomfortable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23479843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horizsan/pseuds/blushao
Summary: In which Wonwoo and Mingyu try to find each other again.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Series: an ode [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684186
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	second life

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: major character death but obviously that doesn't last forever, mingyu drinks la croix which is a sin la croix is nasty, car and train accident tw!!
> 
> for the purposes of this story, we're going to pretend that homosexual marriage is legal in south korea.
> 
> you can find a less edited version of this along with my other writing (lots of poetry if you're interested) on my wattpad under the same username: blushao
> 
> enjoy :)

**JEON WONWOO + KIM MINGYU**

" _I hope we remember each other_

_Even in our next life_

_Even at this time, I'll go to you_ "

-

There was a time when Wonwoo and Mingyu would sit together on the roof, staring up at the stars together. They would talk about reincarnation and whether they thought it was real or not. Both of them believed that it was definitely a possibility, and shouldn't be ruled out.

They talked about what it would mean for them in the future. If they both died and were reincarnated, would they ever be able to find one another again, or would the universe have no pity for them? If they were granted second lives, would they still find each other?

This question was brought up many times over the course of their relationship. It came up in conversation a few days before they graduated college together. It was mentioned a week before they got married, and again on their wedding night. The question was even part of Wonwoo's vows.

And these same words were falling off of Wonwoo's lips now, as he lay in Mingyu's arms, knowing his last breaths were going to be taken not much later. What was happening now wasn't Wonwoo's fault, and it wasn't Mingyu's, either. Another driver had T-boned their car running a red light, and Wonwoo simply didn't see the truck coming. The entire driver's side of their car had been crushed, and Wonwoo was badly injured.

He knew that he didn't have much time left to be here, alive in the arms of the one person he loved more than anything else in the world. So he spoke the words that had come to be their anthem one last time.

"If we're granted second lives, will you be able to find me again?"

A tear fell from Mingyu's eye, landing on Wonwoo's cheek in such a way that it looked like the tear had come from Wonwoo's eye. He nodded, and whispered, "Of course I will. I promised you I would never lose you, Wonwoo. Not forever."

Wonwoo's eyes fluttered closed, and a tiny sigh took the shape of his final breath. Mingyu closed his eyes for a brief few seconds, as Wonwoo's wisp of a soul left his chest and dissipated among the thin sheet of snow falling from the sky. It's a shame he didn't notice.

-

Mingyu had been living without Wonwoo for about four years. Of course, it was difficult. Losing someone you love that much is never easy. He had passed the time and filled the emptiness by trying as hard as he could to fulfill the promise he had made to Wonwoo. He made an effort to see Wonwoo in every face he saw.

Maybe he was that little kid racing through the town square with his older sister, a bubble wand in hand, marveling at the iridescent spheres and the way they shone rainbow whenever the sun's rays touched their surface. Maybe he was that baby crying at the movie theater. Although, come to think of it, Mingyu knew Wonwoo would never do that. That was his biggest pet peeve, next to people who wore mismatching socks (a.k.a Mingyu), and fruits that tasted super good but were super messy to eat (like peaches).

But every time Mingyu looked at someone hoping that they were perhaps the reincarnation of his love, he ruled them out as a possibility almost immediately. No one had ever given him that feeling he was sure he would get when he saw whatever person Wonwoo's soul had been put into.

So he watched and waited. He took the route seventeen train every day, in hopes that he would meet this mystery person who may not even exist. The seventeen train was the exact place where he had first met Wonwoo, when they were both frazzled college kids with coffee and ramen broth coursing through their veins and the only future they wanted was one where they could get more than fifteen minutes of sleep per week.

Apparently the universe had decided to take pity on Mingyu's soul that day. The universe knew that the only thing he wanted was to see Wonwoo again. That night, the seventeen train derailed halfway through its usual route due to technical problems. There were no survivors.

-

"Wonwoo, be careful! We don't want you getting hurt. I know you're excited to go off to college, but calm down."

"Yeah, college isn't that great anyways."

"Shut up, Sunwoo! Let him be excited. It's a good thing."

Wonwoo rolled his eyes as he ran down the driveway with an armful of plushies. "Here's an idea, why don't all of you shut up and let me be happy? Except you, Mom, you're valid."

His little sister gasped, and put an offended hand over her heart. "What, I'm not valid? I was defending you!"

Wonwoo shoved the plushies into the backseat of the van, racing to get the door closed before any of them fell out. "Alright, fine, Chaewon. You're valid too."

Wonwoo walked over to his two siblings, giving them both hugs, although the one he gave Sunwoo was much more brief than the one he gave Chaewon. He had never really gotten along all that well with Sunwoo, but they could be civil with one another when they needed to be. For instance, right now, when their mother was breaking down at the thought of sending another of her babies off to the brand new world of university.

Her only hope was that Wonwoo would make it all the way through, instead of partying and drinking way too much and dropping out after the first semester like Sunwoo had. She still loved Sunwoo just as much as she had before, of course. Sure, she was slightly disappointed in him, but he had a job as a bartender downtown that paid him well enough that he could pay for most of his own expenses. However, he was still living under her roof.

Wonwoo had a much better bond with his little sister, Chaewon. She had been born when he was three years old, and ever since he had found out he was going to have a little sister, he had been hell-bent on finding a pretty name for her. He had narrowed it down to either Jisoo, which was a pretty name, but rather common and not really matchy with his name or Sunwoo's; or Chaewon, which was pretty and contained the Won syllable from his own name. It was still a common name, but Wonwoo wanted his sister to be closer to him in every sense of the word. So when she was born after what seemed like forever to Wonwoo, he decided that Chaewon would be her name.

They were extremely close, with Wonwoo watching over her as much as was necessary, but still making sure to give her the privacy every teenage girl needs. He reviewed every boyfriend and girlfriend she brought home, usually not genuinely approving of any of them. And when she inevitably broke up with them, he always made sure to say, "I told you so."

She was going to start her second year of high school soon, but Wonwoo knew the year was going to be a breeze for her. She was one smart cookie. He made sure that the hug he gave her was good, since he wasn't going to see her in person again until break rolled around in four months. 

He bid Sunwoo and Chaewon one last goodbye, and got in the car with his mother. She started the engine, and he waved goodbye out the window at his siblings as he began the long journey to the campus that would be his home for the next four years.

He was more excited than nervous, but the nervousness was still there. He hadn't met his roommate yet, or talked to him. All he knew about him was that his name was Kim Mingyu, and he had graduated early from high school. For some reason, the name sounded familiar to him, but he knew that he had never met anyone named Mingyu before in his life.

After almost seven hours of driving, Wonwoo and his mother arrived at the college where he had chosen to continue his education. It took them a while to lug all of his stuff up to the dorm, and even longer to unpack everything and organize the room.

Once he was all moved in, he said goodbye to his mother, who had started crying again. He managed to calm her down enough to get her to leave, and go to the hotel where she would be staying for the night before she drove back home again the next morning.

He was lucky he got that taken care of when he did, because not even a minute after his mother left the dorm, his roommate arrived. The guy dropped all of his things the second he stepped through the door, and heaved a sigh. "Jeez, I need to exercise more. Those stairs destroyed my knees."

Upon noticing that Wonwoo was in the room, he reached out a hand. "Hi. I'm Mingyu. And I'll hope you're Wonwoo, otherwise one of us is in the wrong room." He let out a light breathy laugh.

Wonwoo's lips stretched into a smile, and he shook Mingyu's hand. "Yeah, I am Wonwoo. It's nice to meet you. I hope we'll get along well."

Mingyu nodded, and replied, "Yeah, me too. My parents left right off the bat, and I kind of feel bad asking this of you since I'm sure you're tired from putting your side of the room together, but would you mind helping me a little bit?"

Wonwoo nodded, and said enthusiastically, "Of course I'll help you! I mean, yeah, I'm tired, but not _that_ tired." He knelt down on the ground, and added, "What do you want to take care of first? I would suggest making your bed."

After a few hours of hard work, Mingyu's stuff was completely taken care of, and the two had gotten to know a lot more about each other. Wonwoo now knew that Mingyu never wore socks that matched one another (today's were a blue sock with grey cats that went about a quarter of the way up his calf and a red sock that stopped at his ankle), and Mingyu knew that Wonwoo hated it when people didn't match their socks.

They clashed in some ways, but they did have a lot in common, which Wonwoo was very grateful for. Neither one of them particularly enjoyed parties, so Wonwoo figured that they would be having a lot of Netflix nights in their dorm by themselves while the rest of the campus was drinking together.

But he had now realized that not only did Mingyu's name sound familiar, he _looked_ familiar too. And he had been able to guess that Mingyu's favorite color was red, and many other little tidbits about the boy. Mingyu had been able to do the same thing with him, which Wonwoo found a little odd. It was like they had known each other their entire lives, but they hadn't, at least as far as Wonwoo knew.

Mingyu was sitting on his bed, watching conspiracy theory videos on his laptop with a can of La Croix in one hand. Wonwoo had been reading a book on the theories of reincarnation, but he couldn't really focus on it. All he could think about was how he and Mingyu had seemed to subconsciously know each other so well.

He turned to face Mingyu's bed, and asked, "Hey, Mingyu? Can I talk to you about something?"

Mingyu took one earbud out, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking to me? Sorry, I couldn't hear you."

Wonwoo said, "No, no, it's okay." He grabbed his pillow and placed it in his lap as he sat criss-cross-applesauce to get more comfortable. "Can I talk to you about something, though?"

Mingyu cocked his head to one side, and replied, "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

Wonwoo looked down at Mingyu's socks, and he muttered, "Call me crazy, but when I met you today, it was like I'd already known you for years. Did you...I- sorry, but did you feel that too?"

Mingyu's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "You felt that too?! I thought it was just me, and I was scared to ask you 'cause I thought you would think I was insane. I feel like I've known you for eternity."

Wonwoo smiled, and bit his lip, chewing it as he turned over a thought in his mind that had been festering for the past few minutes. "And what's funny is, I was just reading this book about reincarnation, and...I don't know, maybe that's why I feel like I've known you forever. Maybe we knew each other in a past life or something. That'd be kind of cool, wouldn't it? What if we had been like best friends or, who knows, maybe we were romantically involved with one another, and then we both died, but now we've found each other again? That would be really cool, I think."

Mingyu slid off his bed, bringing his laptop and La Croix with him, and hopped onto the bed next to Wonwoo. "Yeah, that would be really cool! Especially if we were romantically involved or something..." He threw Wonwoo a wink, then gasped and whispered, "I'm so sorry if that made you uncomfortable! I tend to say things without thinking first..." He cast his eyes downward, refusing to look up at Wonwoo, shame evident on his face.

Wonwoo shook his head, and gently patted Mingyu's shoulder. "No, it's okay. I think...that would have been...really nice, actually..." His voice trailed off, and Mingyu opened his laptop, moving closer to Wonwoo.

"Let's do some research! Let's Google our names, and see if we can find any death cases. Who knows, maybe we were married! If that's the case, who do you think would have taken who's last name? Would you have taken mine, or would I have taken yours?"

Wonwoo's eyes widened, and he said, "That's a great idea! I mean, it's possible that our past lives didn't have, like, the same name as us or anything, but it's worth a shot, I guess. Let's try that, and just see what we can find."

Mingyu opened a Google tab, and typed in _Jeon Wonwoo death_. He didn't find anything that could be this Jeon Wonwoo. There was one person who had died forty years prior, but he didn't look anything like this Wonwoo, and nothing about him or his life rang any bells for Wonwoo.

Wonwoo nudged Mingyu, and whispered, "Try Kim Wonwoo. See if anything comes up."

Mingyu opened his mouth as though he were going to say something, probably something suggestive if Wonwoo knew him at all, but seemed to think better of it, as he said nothing. Mingyu typed it into the search bar, and a whole ton of results popped up. This was probably due to the fact that Kim was an extremely common surname in Korea. After about a half hour of digging around and sharing Mingyu's can of La Croix, they struck gold.

"Oh! Hey, Wonwoo, look at this! He looks just like you!"

Wonwoo leaned over Mingyu's shoulder, and took a peek at the laptop screen. Sure enough, this Kim Wonwoo looked just like how Wonwoo imagined he would look in about fifteen years. The article said that the man had died a little over four years before Wonwoo was born in a car accident. It also mentioned that his husband, Kim Mingyu, had survived the accident.

"Mingyu, look up your name. I think we were married in a past life, maybe. Just take a look, it can't hurt."

Mingyu opened a new tab, leaving the previous article open, and searched for another half hour to find the correct Kim Mingyu. Sure enough, he found an article about Kim Mingyu, who had been married to Kim Wonwoo. Mingyu died four years after Wonwoo had in a tragic train derailment in which there were no survivors.

Mingyu breathed out, " _Wow_. That's really sad, honestly. But, hey, on the plus side, I guess the universe decided to give us another chance."

Wonwoo met Mingyu's eyes, and gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I guess it did."

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed reading this! please feel free to let me know your thoughts and/or give me constructive criticism in the comments :)
> 
> i sort of want to re-write this at some point, clean it up a little, add to it, etc. but at the same time, i'd like to focus on other projects. hopefully i'll end up having some full-length fics up on here in the future.


End file.
